1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices that dispense granular dry foods to wild or domestic animals without active oversight by a human. Minimal food is wasted due to active interaction of the feeding animal with the feeder device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
While ancient man depended upon successful hunting to survive, contemporary hunters recognize that only a portion of their time can be allocated to hunting. To be successful, the contemporary hunter must rely upon luck, skill, and any means at his disposal to increase the odds of coming upon animals and thereby gaining the opportunity for a successful hunt.
Hunters often seek to increase their odds of success by luring prey to a-convenient location with food. One known, ancient method involves simply spreading food repeatedly over an area until the target animals become accustomed to the presence of food. Once accustomed, such animals will tend to congregate in the dispersal area, making them predictable targets. This crude method has several disadvantages. First, this method is entirely nonspecific. For example, corn that is dispersed to attract deer will also be eaten by small birds and rodents. Second, due to heavy, nonspecific feeding, such a method requires repeated intrusion by a human in order to replenish the available food. Some animals, particularly large animals like deer, will not approach a food source if the scent of humans is too strong. Animals will also lose interest if the food is not consistently available. Third, a hunter must spend a great deal of his precious time moving from location to location spreading feed instead of more satisfying pursuits.
Another popular way for hunters to lure target animals is to employ some sort of feeding device. The most common of these devices is a bird feeder, although similar devices can be envisioned for other animals. Typically, a hopper or column contains the dry feedstock which is fed by gravity through one or more outlets at the base of the device. As an animal feeds at an outlet, additional feedstock falls due to gravity. While this device is somewhat more specific, a device for feeding birds could be elevated to eliminate rodent foraging for example, it is still wasteful. During the gravity feed process, considerable material may fall to the ground thereby again becoming a nonspecific source of food for other animals. Further, such devices only work particularly well for birds that feed on small, easily flowing dry food such as seeds. Larger, coarser feed, such as corn, can easily block the outlet, or the static friction between the feed can resist movement due solely to gravity and thereby render such a device unusable without human intervention or some sort of powered, mechanical agitation. While such devices can be made quite tall in order to hold a large amount of feed material, a large column of such material exerts a considerable force at the opening which can lead to undesirable spillage and/or blockage.
The present invention is an autonomous, weatherproof device capable of providing dry feed material to game animals. The device provides minimal feed xe2x80x9con demandxe2x80x9d as the target animal makes contact with the device actuator. Vents in the device alert animals to the presence of the food by releasing continuous scent. The device works without the aid of batteries, motors, or electricity and can function unattended for long periods of time. It can be sized to contain any suitable feed material and physically located to encourage or discourage nontarget animals from foraging. While the present invention is designed for hunters to attract game animals, domestic animals could also be fed using such a device.
A key feature of the present invention is a conical internal baffle that mitigates the gravity fed pressure of a large feed column upon the actuator.